Baby Trend Sit N Stand Ultra

We welcomed a new baby in early June, and his arrival made us a family of six. That’s four kids and two parents—so needless to say, a double stroller to secure at least the smallest two children while we’re out and about was an absolute essential. I was a little hesitant to try out the Baby Trend Sit n’ Stand Ultra, because a friend has offered me a hand-me-down stroller that was a similar model (although not Baby Trend), and it was a beast. It was so huge and bulky that I knew even as she was struggling to unfold it in my garage that it would stay right there and probably never get used. Even folded, it would’ve monopolized all my trunk space. When I saw that the Sit n’ Stand was the same general style as that stroller, I panicked a little. I expected it to also be bulky and hard to use. But I pulled it out of the box and gave it a try anyway, and I’m so glad I did. It’s a much sleeker, easier to maneuver (and operate) stroller than the hand-me-down version. All in all, it’s an awesome stroller, and I couldn’t be happier with it.

First off, let’s just admire the seating options. My second youngest is a fickle little thing—some days she wants to sit, some days she wants to stand, and some days she wants to be treated like “the baby.” This stroller gives her all those options (except for the baby one, since there’s no way she’s squeezing her almost-three-year-old frame into our infant carrier—we’re hoping she just adjusts and outgrows that “want” soon!). There is a standing board on the back of the stroller with a harness that you can latch behind your child to keep them from falling backward. Some days, that’s where you’ll find Rowan, proudly standing and holding on as we stroll about. Other days, she’s sitting tall on the flat “big kid” seat in the back of the stroller (which has a 3-point harness). And at times, she’s strapped in the 5-point harness on the front traditional stroller seat—and since she does sometimes still fall asleep while we’re out and about, I love having this seating option to keep her upright and comfortable. Since our infant car seat can snap into either the front or back seat position, we have all kinds of options, which is awesome. The ability to change things up and do whatever seating arrangement works for us on any given day is my very favorite thing about this stroller. (Well, that and the fact that it isn’t a side-by-side, so it fits anywhere a single stroller will fit with ease—take that, tiny doorways.)

Assembling this stroller was so simple. It unfolds out of the box, and all you have to do is snap on the wheels, canopy and accessories (a nice parent tray and two drink holders). The only one I had a little trouble getting on was the parent tray, which required a nice hard push from my husband to pop into place. (That probably has more to do with my lack of arm strength than anything else—although you’d think I’d build up muscle just from carrying all these kids around, wouldn’t you?).

As soon as I had it together, I folded it back up to see if it was as difficult to operate as our hand-me-down. I almost cried. One hand, a gentle push, and that baby was back in its original position, all compact and beautiful. So easy, and that’s such an important feature. Unfolding it was just as simple. It’s like BabyTrend knew just what I needed and delivered it to my doorstep.

Let’s talk storage: The aforementioned parent tray has two drink/snack holders and a small closeable compartment, the back seating area has two hook-on drink/snack holders (one for each side), and the front seat has a removable/swing-away tray with another cup holder. (That might sound like a lot of cup/snack holders, but like I said, there are six of us—we’ve used them all.) The tray can be moved to the back seating position if necessary, and the two independent drink holders can be moved up. There’s also a nicely sized storage basket underneath, and a small pocket in the back of the traditional seat. So I’d say we’re set as far as storage space goes; no complaints here.

The brake is foot activated and appears to work quite nicely—we’ve never had any problems with it. This stroller really has a great push as well. It maneuvers smoothly around corners, and the handlebar is in a nice position for both me and my husband. We’ve had to spot clean a few areas (kids are messy creatures!), and everything has cleaned up nicely. The owner’s manual recommends not putting a combined weight of more than 100 pounds on the stroller, which is easy for us since our two littlest barely hit 40 pounds together. (Our third oldest has ridden on the standing board a few times with his baby brother—he’s almost 50 pounds and it still pushes easily, although it’s obviously a little bit heavier just because he’s heavier).

If you’re wondering if your car seat is compatible with this stroller, there’s a good chance it is: All BabyTrend models and most other models snap in with ease. (See if your seat is compatible at the BabyTrend website.)

If I had to find fault with this stroller—and all good reviews insist that you do—it would be with the following things.

I had to add strap covers to the traditional seat, because the hard plastic bits seemed uncomfortable for my kiddos. It would be nice if some kind of cover/padding were included.

My daughter—the almost three year old—leaned too hard on the parent tray and it popped off. I caught her before she hit the ground—and I know that she shouldn’t have been leaning on it in the first place—so just watch your older kids to make sure they’re not putting too much pressure on the tray.

When sitting in the upright back position and facing me, there’s nowhere really for the child to hold on other than slightly behind them, which gets a little uncomfortable.

Those are minor inconveniences to me, and I’m very happy with this stroller. (I’ve yet to find a perfect one, but this one comes as close as any!) I think it would be a great purchase for a mom of a toddler/infant combo. And since it’s significantly less expensive than a lot of double models at only $140, it’s an even better deal. I recommend you head to your local Target store and check it out!